North Carolina updates gender change process for licenses

January 30, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is issuing a new application form making it easier for some transgender people to list their gender on their driver’s licenses and identification cards.

The left-leaning news outlet NC Policy Watch first reported the change, saying the new form replaces a requirement for a surgeon’s letter when changing the gender marker on the cards. The release says while it still requires authorization from medical providers, it allows for a broader range of providers.

The new form still calls for “male” or “female,” which doesn’t acknowledge people who identify as neither, but LGBTQ advocates call the new form a step in the right direction.

N.C. Department of Transportation spokesman Jamie Kritzer says the policy is similar to that of 13 other states.